Apple, Facebook, Google & MS Will Tell Us When U.S. Government Requests Our Data

It looks like Apple, Google, Microsoft and Facebook are getting much braver when it comes to facing off against the NSA spying. They are basically thumbing their noses at the U.S. Government over the issue. All three companies recently formally requested that the US government give them permission to publish federal data requests. They have since received no response from the Department of Justice, so they took it upon themselves to solve the problem "in absentia. " They did this by updating their privacy policies to reflect their intention to inform individual users about how often and when the government requests their data.

Supposedly, the way Google, Microsoft, Apple and Facebook have reworded their policies, these three tech companies will only withhold the info when/if they receive a gag order from a judge or some other legal authority. To be clear, not all of the companies have completely finished rewriting their policies, but all of them are at least working in it. Here's a quote with a few more details,

Google updated its policy this week, adding that data is only withheld when there's "imminent risk" of physical harm to a potential crime victim, while an Apple spokesperson said that later this month the company will update its policies so it can notify customers in "most cases" when law enforcement requests their personal information. Neither Apple nor The Social Network or Redmond, however, have finalized their updates just yet. If it helps you sleep a little better at night, the Post reports that companies that notify their users have a little more sway with the fuzz: apparently investigators would rather drop their data requests entirely rather than suspects learn they're being watched.

Sound off and let us know what you think of this move from the tech titans?